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| By: Sha - at January 21, 2013 |
How to Setup a New Online Store
Introduction
 When it comes
time to setup a new online store, many people become quite
confused. Setting up an online store on your own is easy for you if you have
basic knowledge of web design and website builder tools. You should
remember that your online store must look professional with easy-to-use features
as well as being easy for users to navigate between the different web pages that
comprise your e-commerce store. If you want to
make money online selling your products and services from your new online store,
then the biggest step is to setup your new online store properly.
How to Setup Your New Online Store
There are two common ways to go about this. The first option
is to design or make it all by yourself. The second option is
to hire a
professional web designer and builder. In order to setup your new online
store on your own, you are going to be required to have some expertise or
specialized knowledge on website design as well as some familiarity with website builder tools and techniques. After
all, you want to create an online store from scratch, so you should put in
some good effort into the task. If you are unsure about the desired results
while working on your own, then you can consider assigning the task to an
experienced web designer online or hire one offline.
 Another option and probably one of the best options is you can purchase
pre-packaged e-commerce tools online to make your new online store quickly. You
can easily follow the step by step instructions to make your new store
live on the Internet. Setting up an effective and professional looking online store will require you to do a lot of hard work. If you can do it on your
own you will most likely save some money, you can then start making money
selling your merchandise online.
Here are the step by step techniques on how to setup a new online store:
Choosing a Proper Domain Name
When using an online store make sure you create it on its own domain name, and
not on a free website hosting service.
My advice on this is to pick a domain name that describes your brand. Do
not just buy a domain name with a bunch of keywords. Generally the fewer
the words the better. I usually like to use 2 word domain names all the
time. Keep these words in more of a "brand" sense rather than keyword
stuffing.
Choose a Reliable Online Payment Services Provider
It is an imperative that you provide a safe, secure and reliable online payment
option for your customers or else they might not be interested in making any
purchases due to some fears associated with the payment transaction process.
So you are going to need a secure payment platform to receive payments from
customers. This payment platform is also called a Payment Processor. That is why
you need to make sure you choose and join a reliable online payment services
company by opening a merchant account with them. It is
easier to open a merchant account with an online payment services company than it
is to
open a merchant account with credit card companies. When applying to qualify for
the account you will need to submit some basic and necessary information.
This
might include your bank account details as well as credit card information.
Choose a Reliable Web Host or Online Store Builder
 This is going to be a crucial factor for the success of your new online store. You will need
a reliable web host so that your store is always up and running and never
down due to surges in traffic. You can either choose a reliable web host just for hosting
services along with some other additional features, or choose a good online store
builder. If you go for the latter option then it can be more effective than the
first option if you are not an expert in web design. If you choose a reliable
online store builder, it will essentially provide a full range of integrated
services including web hosting services, shopping carts, email(s), templates for
your new online store, and many more features to help you setup the new
online store easily. If you choose a web hosting services provider then you will
need to buy e-commerce software for running all other features such as shopping
carts and online store templates. This option is for those who want to design
their new online store on their own. For webhosting, I always recommend
going with HostGator.
I have used them for years and their service is fast, reliable, and great for
the price.
Preparing Your Website
 This is
an action-oriented stage. Choose a nice and
professional looking online store template related to the products of your
store. Then choose different categories, sub-categories, and lists that you
think are suitable. Add pages corresponding to each of these features. List
your merchandise or services under different categories and sub-categories. Select
which categories you want to keep under menu items, and which ones to go under sub-menu
items. Write about your company in a new page such as “about us” and make
sure to give your store a personality of its own. Also write
your store’s privacy policy, terms and conditions, and contact details in
separate individual pages to give your newly set-up online store a professional
look.
Also I highly recommend not putting other advertisements on your website.
Just sell your products and do not confuse your customers with unnecessary ads
that take them to other websites, doing so will decrease your conversions and
your professionalism.
If you can, have a review system in place where buyers can write reviews on
the products that they purchase. When you make a site more "community"
based, it is sure to generate more traffic.
Add High-quality Digital Images
You must add very high-quality digital images alongside the products or
merchandise and give brief descriptions of the products. This will enhance the
credibility of your online store. Mention the prices alongside each image
and product descriptions so customers can easily find them.
Here is an example of items lined up in an online store:
Test, Test, Test, Then Make it Live!
Before you make your new online store ready to be used by customers, you should
conduct a number of test runs on your site to make sure the store
works perfectly. If you find any problems then fix them. Check to confirm it is
ready for customers, and fully suitable to go live on the web.
Conclusion
With basic web design skills you can setup an online store all yourself.
Remember to make the store easy to navigate, give
it a nice template, and load it with high-quality images of your products.
If you are not able to design the store on your own then hiring a reliable web
designer can help you get started. By using templates and
the structure of the page to your advantage, try to give customers an experience
that is conducive to purchasing. The
more professional looking your online store appears the more likely customers
will return to it, and hopefully recommending it to their friends.
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